31. Aldrin
I spend a week gathering the fragments of my army, traveling across the court to find their numbers scattered within the wilds, hidden, neglected and dejected. The same tactic works on each regiment as I show them the truth of the corruption.
Not all of the Spring Court soldiers follow me.
A fraction remain in their camps with no way to contact the High Chancellor, too afraid to break her orders and return to the capital.
It is a risk, leaving them at my back, but a small one when I have the vast majority of our professional armed forces supporting me.
And how they support me. I did not expect this level of reverence and dedication, but their resentment and suspicion of the High Chancellor has been brewing for a while. They are yet another group she has tried to silence and disempower instead of placate.
Tens of thousands of my soldiers amass within the valley hidden in the remote wilds of our court, waiting while our number continues to arrive. Cyprien, Cedar and Klara gather around me, watching from the top lip of the valley as the army prepares for our quite unusual assault on the capital.
There are maybe a hundred portals clustered in its center.
Most are broken and lead to destinations that were destroyed during one war or another.
This interchange has enough functioning gateways that I managed to bring my army that was scattered across the court to this location, and I will be able to use the portals around the City of Vertical Gardens to attack it from multiple directions.
To meet there with Keira and the forces she currently leads.
One that includes Ezekiel’s chain of dragons.
No, this is not a coup.
It is a takeover of power.
One far more devious.
Klara turns her lilac eyes on me, tossing the knot of her many intricate braids over her shoulder. “Are you ready, Aldrin? Because there is no turning back after this. Today we show our hand.”
I raise an eyebrow at her. “Is my Minister of Special Battle Tactics having second thoughts on her own plan?”
“It has been a long time since I have truly held that title.” A line forms between her eyebrows. “I fear for Keira. She will no longer be able to hide behind a mask of fragile humanity. Today Titania will know her true powers.”
I run a hand through my hair. “You know our queen cannot be told what to do, especially when she has made up her mind. Trust me, I have tried. Besides, she is needed for this and has just as much of a right to fight for her crown as I do.”
A cold sweat breaks out all across my skin at the very thought of how vulnerable this plan makes her, but I will not sideline my mate. I could lock her away to keep her safe, but giving in to that impulse would diminish her.
Trumpets bellow and a cluster of my commanders race up the hill toward me. Calypso approaches at their head. “The soldiers are in formation and ready for the assault on the capital.”
I nod. Once she declared her allegiance to me, she became essential in recruiting more regiments to our cause.
“Power up the portals,” I demand. “We will make our move now.”
The trumpets sing out my order and soldiers funnel their raw magic into the moonstone portals that quickly flare to life.
The murky archways ripple with bursts of white light, refracting a rainbow of colors.
Thick mist immediately rolls out of them.
The columns of my dedicated soldiers march forth and disappear into them, each regiment taking a different portal to the city.
I turn to my most trusted allies, who will each lead a quarter of this army with me to converge on the capital from four directions.
Cyprien looks down upon the might of all those armored soldiers with unbridled delight in his dark eyes.
Klara has her chin raised high and shoulders straight, like she is preparing to charge at the enemy alone, and Cedar looks as calm as the surface of an undisturbed lake.
“I will see you at the palace,” I growl. “Let’s make Titania pay.”
We separate, moving down the valley and to the heads of our respective regiments.
Silvan waits at the apex of mine, right where they march through the portal, sword in hand and jaw clenched tight.
I draw my blade and step through at his side.
We travel a handful of paces through a featureless world of blinding white light and thick, damp mist, then out into chaos on the other side.
The colossus of the City of Vertical Gardens rears up before us, its buildings as tall as mountains.
They are layered with many towers and platforms jutting out from their sides, thousands of bridges connecting the megastructures at every level.
A cloud of water vapor shrouds the city, kicked up from its many waterfalls.
The metropolis is half golden from stone and half green from forests.
My forces gather just outside the capital, in the open space of the meadows and roads leading into it, where hundreds of portals converge. We move quickly to minimize the time Titania has to react.
There are soldiers everywhere, forming their lines and unfurling my banners, dozens of feet long and streaming in air wields to reveal the sigil of my house: the Wisteria of Mythanar with its many expanding branches and roots.
Wagons full of the food we commandeered from Titania’s warehouses roll out of the portals with multiple fae sitting on each and powering their momentum with air.
In the distance, I spy another column of my army swarming before the western face of the city, under Cyprien’s command. The east is darkened by the force Klara leads.
The ground shakes as dragons land around me, dropping from the sky one by one.
Their colorful scales glitter in the sunlight and their huge forms cast shadows over us as others circle overhead.
In their presence, many of my foot soldiers shake in their boots, but none break formation and run.
In truth, the dragons may swoop down and gulp them up if they tried, ever creatures that cannot stand a show of weakness.
A smirk grows upon my face as I stalk toward King Ezekiel and his son Prince Bartholomew.
Both are larger than half a dozen wagons.
Where the father is gold and white, the son is midnight black, with a sheen of blue and purple rippling across his hard scales.
Huge spikes run along either side of their spines, from their shoulder blades to the tips of their tails, and thick, curling horns erupt from their foreheads.
Ezekiel’s long neck curves around as he looks at me with those immense, reptilian brown eyes. He stretches out broad wings that glisten in the light, illustrating every red vein and white scar that marks their surface.
In trouble again, Aldrin, King of Spring? Ezekiel rumbles in my head. Which fae do I need to eat today?
Bartholomew joins his father. I am in the mood for destruction. My claws itch to shred something. It has been far too long since we have fought a proper war. Always with the border skirmishes.
Dragons are territorial creatures, constantly fighting other clans.Relief floods me at their support. It is so potent it almost makes my legs weak.
“By the gods, I am glad to see the two of you,” I say.
“There will be no destruction or eating of fae today,” Keira’s chiding voice calls out.
She stands on Bartholomew’s back, between spikes that reach halfway up her thighs.
She looks like a fucking goddess up there, dressed for battle with the sun framing her like a golden aura.
The bargain allows her to join this offensive, because while we aim to stop Titania, to remove her from power, Keira does not intend to personally harm her.
Both dragons chuff. Fae, with their weak stomachs and weaker politics, Ezekiel scoffs.
Keira slides down Bartholomew’s tail, using her air magic to gracefully stop her momentum as she reaches the ground and lands on her feet. Then she is running toward me, a smile bright on her lips.
My queen looks like a ray of fucking sunshine.
Her hair is ablaze in curling whipcords of fire that thrash around a crown on her head.
Every freckle upon her skin is illuminated by the flame that burns within, making her creamy flesh glitter.
She wears ornate golden armor with protective runes etched into every panel.
Her chest plate is a work of art, depicting the sigil of my house. Our house.
Shoulder guards and plates cover her arms, including elaborate gauntlets. Her skirt is a stunning sheet of golden chainmail, with two splits that reach up her thighs to allow ease of movement. Beneath, she is fully protected by high, armored boots that combine greaves and cuisses in one.
She makes me feel underdressed.
By the gods, I hope she doesn’t need all that armor she wears.
She slides into my arms, her soft lips meeting mine in a frenzy. I fall into the embrace, savoring the sweet scent of her and missing the soft curves of her body at the same time. Relishing in the taste of those lips and the way their fullness feels moving against mine.
Keira threads her hands through my hair, toying with the crown of horns that has materialized there in my primal form. It does wicked things to me. Then she is pulling away and it is like the sun has disappeared behind a cloud.
“Hey, you.” Keira looks up at me with those huge doe eyes, her arms still looped around my neck.
“Dear heart,” I rumble, “are you ready to take the city with me?”
“I have been ready since the moment I stepped into Titania’s miserable court.” She traces the black lines of war ink that form across my face whenever I am ready for a battle.
“And you are prepared for the backlash? I cannot convince you to hide your magic one last time?” I almost plead.